Sri Lanka’s election is testing a new leader

The people of Sri Lanka are voting in snap parliamentary elections, seven weeks away from electing a new president.

More than 8,800 people ran for election in the election which is accompanied by a campaign that does not trickle down.

Voting started at 07:00 local time (01:30 GMT) and continues until 16:00 (10.30 GMT). The counting will begin this evening and the results are expected on Friday.

Of the 225 seats in parliament, 196 MPs will be directly elected. Others will be elected by political parties based on the percentage of votes they received in what is known as proportional representation.

“More than 8,800 people representing 49 political parties and 284 independent parties ran in the elections but only about 1,000 people campaigned,” said Rohana Hettiarachchi, executive director of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections, a poll watchdog. BBC.

High inflation, food and fuel shortages created a political crisis in 2022 that led to the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. His successor Ranil Wickremesinghe was able to negotiate a A $3bn bailout package with the International Monetary Fund – but many Sri Lankans continue to feel economic hardship.

“We are still stuck with the problems we faced before. We still don’t have financial help to even meet our daily needs,” garment factory worker Manjula Devi, 26, who works in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone near Colombo, told the BBC.

The number of people living below the poverty line in Sri Lanka has increased to 25.9% in the last four years. The World Bank expects the economy to grow by only 2.2% in 2024.

“Sri Lanka has not recovered from the economic crisis of 2022, even with the IMF bailout,” Raisa Wickrematunge, deputy editor of Himal Southasian magazine, told the BBC.

“I am writing this from Sri Jayawardenapura General Hospital, a government hospital that is turning off lights and fans to try to reduce rising electricity costs.”

In 2022, the country defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time, forcing it to seek debt restructuring agreements.

Observers expect a multi-cornered contest in the general election, where 17.1 million voters are registered to participate. The split in the vote may end up hurting the chances of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), making major changes.

“Analysts predict that he may struggle to get two thirds and may have to rely on alliances. This can make his job very difficult,” said Raisa Wickrematunge.

The election campaign was largely peaceful with no reports of voting-related deaths or large-scale misuse of government resources.

“The violence is nothing compared to the previous elections. It will be a peaceful election,” hopes Rohana Hettiarachchie.